Here are some longstanding problems that I have with the WTB&TS. I really feel conflicted, and need to come to terms with the whole thing. Slowly this is happening. I don?t know where this will eventually lead me.
I have spent most of my life in and around Jehovah?s Witnesses. This is over 45, approaching 50 years of association, so I have a first-rate personal base of experience. I have dealt with the problems that kids have in school, the Draft, college, I married a witness woman, raised a child in the truth, and was a MS and then an Elder. I vacation/aux Pioneered when I could. Many of my relatives are witnesses. I have been through it, seen and heard it all.
I recognize that the WTB&TS has done a lot of good for many people, and helped them with their lives. This shouldn?t be taken away from them, and I won?t try to. But I also feel that they have done harm to a lot of people including me, and this is my problem with them. I have no hatred or ill feelings toward the WTB&TS, just feelings of conflict and frustration.
I have no problem with doctrinal things such as Hellfire, the Trinity, immortality of the soul, the Kingdom, refusal whole blood transfusions, the Ransom, celebration of the Memorial. No problems at all. However, most of these things (except blood and the memorial) were figured out 150 years ago in the 1800?s, and several Ministers other than Russell were also on-board with much of this. There is nothing new here. You either accept these concepts or you don?t. That?s fine with me.
My problems are not with the Bible, Jehovah (I believe that this is his correct name as pronounced in English) or Jesus Christ but with the WTB&TS?s managing of things. Here is what they are (in random order):
1. 1975: I lived through this and saw many people adjust their lives for the end of the world to come in 1975. This is exactly what we were told to do from the platform (see August 15, 1968 WT, ?Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975? and a May 1974 KM, P.3 ?How are you using your life??). 30 years later we are still here, and so is this system of things. Promoting the idea that Armageddon would come by 1975, so get ready, hurt the people who obediently accepted these things. Some were hurt emotionally, spiritually, and in some cases materially. They were trying to show faith, be obedient and as a result were disappointed and many became disillusioned. If they left the Organization as a result they were viewed as ?spiritually weak?, or that they came into the truth for the wrong reasons. This whole idea that the end would come in 1975 was incorrect and unnecessary to promote. It hurt people.
2. 1914 and the Generation: I was raised being told by my family and responsible Brothers that I would never get out of high school before Armageddon came. The ?generation? would be no more than 70-80 (a life span per the bible) years past 1914, and that Armageddon would happen before this time period had elapsed. This is what we all were taught repeatedly (see October, 1876 The Bible Examiner, Vol. XXI. No. 1 Whole 313 and w58 4/15 P.238 ?The time to sing a new song? as examples). I heard this idea continually for the first 40+ years of my life, and believed it. The references in the Watchtower, Awake, and other publications are too many to site. Then in the November 1,1995 Watchtower (one year past 1914+ 80) in an article entitled ?A Time to Keep Awake? the understanding changed to ?Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term ?generation? as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.? I have a big problem with this whole thing. Jesus said that nobody including him would know the exact or approximate time. Only Jehovah would know this. We are 91 years past 1914, and 30 years past 1975 and this system seems to be going on strong. Why did the WTB&TS go past what Jesus said by trying to pin-down dates, this hurt people, and worst of all, why did I accept it for so long?
3. 607 BCE: Only the WTB&TS uses the date 607 BCE as the date for the destruction of Jerusalem, because it fits with the 2, 520 years of the ?Gentile Times? and gets them to 1914 (see w68 5/1 p.268 ?Understanding Time a Help To True Worshipers? and w68 8/15 p.495 ?Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?? as examples). Every scholar, reference and historical source in the world recognizes only 586-587 as the date for the destruction of Jerusalem and not 607 (see Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, Online Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica and the Catholic Encyclopedia as examples). The factual historical record does not support the use of the date 1914 as the end of the Gentile Times and the exact date for the establishment of the Kingdom. This gets back to No. 1 and 2 above. Counting time has proven problematic for anyone who tries to do it. That?s because Jehovah doesn?t want it done. That?s why a sign was given by Jesus, not a mystery method to count time. Also, I don?t recall seeing the WT commenting on the dates 586-587 BCE. These should at least be addressed since the entire world recognizes them, and the WT Society is the only entity I know of who asserts 607 BCE as a correct date for the destruction of Jerusalem.
4. Scriptural Technical Reliability: The above points raise the question in my mind: What else has the WTB&TS asserted as a teaching that will be revealed as incorrect as more time passes? How has this erroneous thinking adversely impacted the lives of people who believed and trusted? Correcting errors like this can?t be covered over by terming them ?New Light?. It is patently unfair. Any errors need to be admitted, and then move on.
5. NGO: The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York applied for association with the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in 1991 and was granted association in 1992. The United Nations has confirmed this fact in writing, and will provide a copy free to anyone who asks. By accepting association with DPI, the WT Organization agreed to meet the criteria for association, including support and respect of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and commitment and means to conduct effective information programs with its constituents and to a broader audience about UN activities. In October 2001, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York requested termination of its association with DPI when its membership was revealed in the Guardian newspaper (UK). Following this request, the DPI made a decision to disassociate the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York as of October 9, 2001. I still don?t know what to say about this. The answer the WTB&TS gave for doing this is preposterous and disingenuous. They said that they had to join to use the UN library for research information. At least they admitted doing it. I have a huge problem with this whole thing. I am afraid that if this was not discovered by a newspaper, they would still be a member. So much for ?No part of the world?. I wonder how the Brothers and Sisters who died in the German and Japanese death camps (just to mention a few) would feel about this.
6. Donation Arrangement: When the WT Society started the donation arrangement in 1990, they said it was to further distinguish themselves from other organized religions, and would ?Simplify? things. The actual reason was out of necessity because of a sales taxation issue. This change took place principally because Jimmy Swaggart Ministries lost a court case, and had to pay sales tax on literature that was distributed and money received for this. The WT Society would be in a similar situation, and filed a ?friend of the Court? brief on June 22, 1989 supporting the legal position of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries in this case. Apparently, the WT Society felt that if Swaggart won their case, this would apply to the WT also, and they wouldn?t have to worry. I have a problem with this. The WT Society should be no part of the world, and not be involved with any other religion in any venue to be true to what they have previously asserted as the position of genuine Christians. In addition, the membership of Jehovah?s Witnesses should have been told the truth about why the donation arrangement was being implemented. It was not to ?simplify? things as presented. It was to avoid paying sales tax. How about ?render to Caesar the things belonging to Caesar?. Don?t avoid it. Be honest. We can take it. Have no alliances with any other religion in any way. Jehovah is on our side. We don?t need any help or an edge on things.
7. Stock Ownership in Rand Engine Corp: Between the years of at least 1996-2002 the WTB&TS owned a substantial portion of stock (5,073,200 shares of Class A common stock) in Rand Cam Engine Corp, and a company known as REGI U.S. Inc (see Security and Exchange Commission file No. 0-23920 for REGI U.S., Inc. for fiscal year ended April 30, 2002 and Amendment No. 2 to Form SB-2 Registration Statement under The Securities Act of 1933 dated June 1992 for REGI U.S. Inc.). Rand Cam Engine Corp. owns a substantial portion of Rand Energy Group Inc. All of these companies perform research and development of engine technologies which have military and other applications. All of these companies seek out and have individually or collectively acquired contracts with, as an example, the US Navy (USN contract SBIR No1-144, announced on 12-6-01) to provide these goods and services they specialize in. I have a big problem with this. I don?t care how the WTB&TS obtained this stock, if it was a gift or they purchased it with money from donations, they should not have owned it or received the financial benefits of ownership in the stock. These companies serve the military with methods of armament, and make a profit doing it. That?s fine. Just don?t sermonize against the military and warfare, and then take financial advantage from it.
8. Management Competence: Someone who points their finger at other religions and accuses them as being apostate needs to keep its skirts clean. You are either part of the world or you are not. The above points raise the questions: What else has the WTB&TS done that we don?t know about? They did not disclose the above to the constituents as a matter of basic openness. Why should I conform my life to what they tell me is the right thing to do. Do they know what the right thing is? Do they follow their own tenets?
9. Intrusion into Peoples lives: The WT Society has historically told its members that they should not attend College (see g71 6/8 p. 3 Second Thoughts About a College Education as an example ), now this has been reversed (see w96 2/1 p.9 Education ?Use It to Praise Jehovah as an example). Members who listened to them years ago deprived themselves of a personal enrichment, and an ability to enhance their income and lifestyle to that of average. Many of these people today have financial problems and do not live too well because they did not pursue adequate means of earning a living (like getting a College education or advanced training in a craft) and instead waited for 1975, then the end, as they were encouraged to do. If College is okay to do now, it was always okay. According to the WT Society, the world and everything associated with it has gotten worse as time passes. This must mean that College is worse today than it was years ago, but is now okay to attend? In addition, if you do have a College education and have specialized knowledge in some field, The WT Society wants your services for free. How duplicitous. This hurt people.
Furthermore, the WT Society has instituted a system of rules to obviously control the membership. They tell you to have nothing to do with anyone other than the Witnesses. This causes you to be isolated in a total Witness culture. Once isolated they use that isolation to control people. An example (and there are many); if you don?t follow a particular teaching and you can?t be disfellowshiped for it, you will marked. Congregants then think less of you, and must avoid social association with you because you have been marked (see Om 1989 p.152). A second example; If you don?t put in the national average in hours per month in the Field Service, you are not ?Exemplary? and the Elders will not appoint you a MS unless there are really some extenuating circumstances. If your hours are too low, you can?t run around the KH with the microphones, be posted behind the literature/magazine counter, or be an attendant, etc. If you are not used in some capacity, the other members of the Congregation see this and view you as ?spiritually weak?. You will be continually spoken to in a most subtle and condescending way by the self righteous ones in the Congregation (and sadly, there are many). This will all be a minor embarrassment to your spouse or parent(s), and then naturally, pressure is applied at home to compel you to conform. A third example; People are constantly being watched by other members of the congregation, and wrongdoing reported to the Elders for action/correction. I believe that the prime reason that the Circuit Overseer visits the Congregations twice a year is to verify that the Elders and the Congregation as a whole hasn?t gone renegade. Encouragement is a secondary item on his agenda. A person cannot disagree, question, or have any independent thoughts, and be tolerated in the Organization. If they do, they will be viewed as ?spiritually weak? or as a danger and a threat. Counsel and perhaps severe discipline is on the way if you express any difference in opinion. In the USA this is almost a violation of your civil rights. That is, to be socially or religiously reprimand for expressing your own thoughts and conclusions.
My experience over decades in the truth has been that very few intelligent or well-educated people join the Organization, and those few who do, generally do not stay (no offense meant to anyone). It is difficult, if not impossible for an active, intelligent and aware person to remain a witness, not because the general belief system is unfounded, but because the Organization?s Hierarchy wants to control the belief structure of all its members even in minor areas. This just doesn?t work with people. The ancient Jews couldn?t handle it even when it came directly from God.
10. The Faithful and Discreet Slave (FDS): There have been many different thoughts about who this is person or entity is over the past 89 years. The December 1, 1916 issue of the Watchtower indicates that thousands of readers of the magazine believed that C.T. Russell was the FDS and he also believed this (p.357). Later on in time it was asserted that the FDS is not a person but the WTB&TS (see w52 2/1 p. 76 ?Jehovah?s Theocratic Organization Today? as an example). This is an exclusively self-proclaimed identification by the WT Society. This general belief remains to this day with slight nuance. I believe that the FDS works for Jehovah and it is Jehovah?s sole prerogative to endorse and identify this entity. It is not for me to state an opinion who it is or is not, or for someone or Organization to state publicly that it is them. If God supports it, it will be apparent to everyone. No self-proclamations needed. I do ask one rhetorical question: would the FDS be responsible for or even remotely implicated in any of the above items 1-9 if they were actually the FDS? A person has to answer this question for themselves. No one can answer it for them.
I am still trying to figure out exactly what all of this means to me, and what if anything I need to do about it.